Pitt PG Xavier Johnson

[IUNorth]

Has IU in his final four. Averaged nearly 6 assists, but 3 turnovers too. I would imagine on that Pitt team, he probably had the ball in his hands a lot.

Don’t know much about him. Anyone else watch him play much? An established, good, PG would be probably the single biggest need this team has, now that TJD is coming back. So assuming he’s as good as his ACC stats indicate, would be a huge get Id imagine???!

 

[Lucy01]

We don’t need another Josh Newkirk!

 

[Coach Geez]

We don’t need another Josh Newkirk!

Did you see our PG play last year? Johnson is a big body PG who can get downhill in a hurry. Immediate upgrade over Phinisee and Lander. Let’s not overcomplicate things.

 

[ndhuntington]

True story Rob Phinsee had a couple games where he was literally was a ghost on the floor no stat line which is incredibly hard to do.

 

[Lucy01]

Did you see our PG play last year? Johnson is a big body PG who can get downhill in a hurry. Immediate upgrade over Phinisee and Lander. Let’s not overcomplicate things.

4 turn overs a game to!

 

[Cavanagh.13]

Lander will be much better this year, but needs another starting guard beside him. Rob is not it.

 

[Paterfamilias]

Imo he's very good. Reminds me of Aaron Holiday. Holiday really improved his jumper in college and I'm guessing a little tweak and Johnson could get his straightened out too. If he comes to IU, I think he'll be an automatic starter. Really good defender too as far as I can tell, but I've just watched a little bit on youtube and checked his stats.

 

[Lucy01]

Imo he's very good. Reminds me of Aaron Holiday. Holiday really improved his jumper in college and I'm guessing a little tweak and Johnson could get his straightened out too. If he comes to IU, I think he'll be an automatic starter. Really good defender too as far as I can tell, but I've just watched a little bit on youtube and checked his stats.

That’s why we have an X NBA Coach and he will make that decision with Matta’s help, Not you!

 

[Pryght]

Has IU in his final four. Averaged nearly 6 assists, but 3 turnovers too. I would imagine on that Pitt team, he probably had the ball in his hands a lot.

Don’t know much about him. Anyone else watch him play much? An established, good, PG would be probably the single biggest need this team has, now that TJD is coming back. So assuming he’s as good as his ACC stats indicate, would be a huge get Id imagine???!

GOOD: Very athletic, good handle, quick first step, & good vision
BAD: Not the best decision-maker
UGLY: Not sure who wanted Xavier to leave Pitt more, Jeff Capel or Xavier Johnson

 

[IUNorth]

GOOD: Very athletic, good handle, quick first step, & good vision
BAD: Not the best decision-maker
UGLY: Not sure who wanted Xavier to leave Pitt more, Jeff Capel or Xavier Johnson

Well I don’t like to hear that! If he chooses IU I hope that dynamic changes.

 

[Paterfamilias]

That’s why we have an X NBA Coach and he will make that decision with Matta’s help, Not you!

I suppose you're probably right about that. I tend to shy away from big decisions anyway, so I'm pretty happy with the current arrangement myself. I do like to take wild guesses on message boards though

 

[Lucy01]

I suppose you're probably right about that. I tend to shy away from big decisions anyway, so I'm pretty happy with the current arrangement myself. I do like to take wild guesses on message boards though

😁

 

[Jssanto]

6’3”
200 lbs
14 points, 5 plus rebounds, high assist rate and low TOs.
Also called a combo guard so may play as a 2 with KL.

 

[Harry Hondo]

As usual Lucy is wrong. Welcome, XJ!

 

[Champs1976]

CMW has experience with personalities like Johnson's and I suspect he will fix Johnson's decision making, tone down his volatility and channel him into working hard to be the best he can be - as a player and teammate. Johnson wants to win badly, very competitive, he will accept coaching from Woodson because he knows CMW can help him due to Woody's NBA contacts and being a straight shooter.

If Johnson doesn't get better it will be because he didn't accept coaching. Remember that Woody is a bit of a disciplinarian (although done in a nice way) and I am confident Johnson will cut the crap (attitude, mouth and turnovers) that caused him problems at Pitt or he won't play (unlike Devonte). One ranking had him as the third best player in the portal!

 

[kkott]

Also, saw in some article where TJD said he was going to work on recruiting Xavier. Don't know if it played a role, but kudos to him for doing all he can to make next year's team better.

 

[SouthBendJim]

We don’t need another Josh Newkirk!

You should watch the highlight videos of XJ posted on the main page. We haven't see a guard play like this at IU in 20 years. Yeah, Pitt sucked a little, but he didn't. Aggressive scorer. Also dished out a lot of assists from what I saw. Tough defender.

If he and Parker Stewart are our starting guards next year, things will be a whole lot better IMO. Rob never played or scored like this guy, neither did Armann (don't care if he comes back).

I am optimistic we won't see 4-6 minutes a game where IU doesn't score a point. Just need some scorers, and I think these two are the answer.

 

[Beorik]

You should watch the highlight videos of XJ posted on the main page. We haven't see a guard play like this at IU in 20 years. Yeah, Pitt sucked a little, but he didn't. Aggressive scorer. Also dished out a lot of assists from what I saw. Tough defender.

If he and Parker Stewart are our starting guards next year, things will be a whole lot better IMO. Rob never played or scored like this guy, neither did Armann (don't care if he comes back).

I am optimistic we won't see 4-6 minutes a game where IU doesn't score a point. Just need some scorers, and I think these two are the answer.

I agree and Johnson’s aggressive play will open things up for others. He puts a lot of pressure on the defense.

I still want Franklin back because I dream of a lineup with Johnson, Parker and Franklin running up and down the floor. Johnson creates pressure and opens up Parker and Franklin to knock down shots. Could really turn around our offense from this year.